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QUICK FIX

— What lawmakers want from USDA, FDA: Congress inserted a litany of directives for the Agriculture Department in the federal spending package, which includes more money on several priorities. Lawmakers are also pressing for information on how the department plans to revamp its process for drafting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the compromise deal to avert another government shutdown, but also plans to declare a national emergency at the Southern border.

— Various economic figures present a mixed picture of the farm economy. The data come ahead of a full report on 10-year projections from USDA.

— Compromises were discussed during U.S.-China trade talks in Beijing. But a key hang up remains: U.S. demands for a framework to monitor China’s progress on such a pledge. Discussions are said to return to Washington next week.

Driving the Day

CONGRESS HAS SOME DEMANDS FOR USDA, FDA: More than four months into the fiscal year, lawmakers passed a massive, $328 billion spending bill for 15 agencies. The Senate on Thursday afternoon passed the measure 83-16 and the House followed in the evening, voting 300-128 to clear it.

The sweeping border security and appropriations bill, H.J. Res. 31 (116), includes a number of mandates and funding priorities, yours truly writes.

First, the numbers: Funding for the foods side of FDA would total over $1 billion, which is about $30 million more than Trump had requested for fiscal 2019 that began on Oct. 1. The USDA is getting just under $20 billion.

Special requests: The legislation directs at least $15 million of FDA money to be used for inspections of foreign seafood processors and imported seafood.

About $3 billion of the appropriations budget would be allocated to the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (up from $2.75 billion in fiscal 2018). Lawmakers are directing the extra money to go toward areas like cotton ginning, poultry, sugar beets, aquaculture, greenhouse technology and nutrition.

An attempt to block ERS, NIFA move: Democrats on the House Appropriations agriculture subcommittee weren’t able to work in stronger language to stop the relocations of USDA’s Economic Research Service and NIFA altogether. Instead, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), with the backing of more than a dozen other Democrats, on Thursday reintroduced a bill that would prevent all such moves.

Revamping the Dietary Guidelines: Congress, in a new provision in the spending package, asked USDA to report on how it ismodifying its approach to drafting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published every five years. The report must come within six months and lawmakers also gave the department more than $12 million through September 2021 to develop the guidelines.

Read more about other special requests, such as money for ocean farming and a new bio and agri-defense facility at Kansas State University, here.

WHAT COMES NEXT FOR TRUMP: After months of threatening to issue a national emergency, the White House has made it official: Trump will go through with it in order to “ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

The sudden move caught most of Capitol Hill by surprise, POLITICO’s Congress team reports, and will be a test of loyalty for Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — who has been among the lawmakers urging Trump to avoid such a step — first announced the decision during a late afternoon speech on the floor.

Lawmakers are worried Trump will use the declaration to redirect disaster funds for wildfire and hurricane recovery efforts to pay for the border wall. FEMA and other agencies have billions in aid money that has yet to be disbursed for places like California, Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

MORE DATA POINTS ON THE STATE OF FARM ECONOMY: Several reports this week have illustrated a mixed picture on the future of the farming:

— The USDA is optimistic about 2019, in part due to trade aid payments. Net farm income is expected to increase by 12 percent this year, to $77.6 billion, ERS said Thursday. The analysis accounts for a projected $10.2 billion in direct government money, including from USDA’s package to help offset retaliatory tariffs, Helena reports.

— The value of farmland in parts of the Midwest and Plains regions largely held steady at the end of last year, but a prolonged downturn in the agricultural economy could cause values to fall, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reported on Thursday, Pro Ag’s Liz Crampton writes.

— The Federal Reserve of Chicagosaid that in its area (which covers parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan), farmland values fell 2 percent in 2018, after taking inflation into account. The Fed also reported deteriorating credit conditions, such as repayment rates.

— The U.S. share of soybean exports is projected to decline as Brazil becomes an increasingly important supplier. And the U.S. share of the global wheat market is expected to fall over 10 years, as Russia, the EU and Canada pick up business. The latest long-term projections from ERS can be found here. The full USDA report on long-term trade projections is expected March 13.

TRADE CORNER

CHINA TALKS END BUT MORE WORK REMAINS: The U.S. and China concluded another round of trade talks today. A source tells our partners at the South China Morning Post that the two countries have agreed to continue talks in Washington next week. In a tweet Friday morning, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin called the meetings “productive” but didn’t elaborate.

The South China Morning Post reported Thursday that the U.S. floated the idea of removing its 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports (while leaving in place its 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products). In return, China would pledge to make structural changes to better protect intellectual property of foreign companies operating in the country.

The U.S. duties prompted China to retaliate by slapping tariffs on a wide range of American farm exports, including soybeans, corn, cherries and pork. Whether Beijing is considering dropping these tariffs is unclear.

More pressure on Trump’s tariffs: USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky told Brownfield Ag News on Thursday that he and others at the department are urging Trump to drop the steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which have resulted in billions in retaliatory tariffs on ag products.

ROW CROPS

— More states announce early SNAP payments for March: Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, and North Carolina have announced they will dispense March Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments early to compensate for early payments last month due to the partial government shutdown. More states are expected to announce accelerated payment schedules in the coming days.

— The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed by voice vote legislation, S. 483 (116), to reauthorize EPA’s pesticide approval program, known as PRIA. The measure is now headed to the House.

— California would be limited in its ability to hold agricultural operations accountable for nitrate contamination in drinking water under a proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom, POLITICO Pro California reports.

— Senate Agriculture ranking member Debbie Stabenowon Thursday dodged a question about whether she would vote for Democrats’ Green New Deal resolution, which McConnell said he wants to bring to the floor (though with no particular timeline). Stabenow, during an interview with Axios, said that while she supports the climate change goals, she wishes there was more input on the plan before its unveiling last week.

— Critics of McConnell’s move on the Green New Deal, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have characterized it as a “cynical stunt” because Republicans will vote against it and Democrats are divided about how to tackle climate change, reports POLITICO’s Anthony Adragna.

— Censky told a biofuels conference in Florida this week that the administration should use “discretionary enforcement” if EPA doesn’t complete a rule allowing year-round sales of gasoline with higher ethanol blends, known as E15, this summer. More from Reuters here.

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About The Author : Catherine Boudreau

Catherine Boudreau is a food and agriculture reporter for POLITICO Pro.

Before joining POLITICO, Catherine spent nearly two years writing about agriculture, food safety and international trade at Bloomberg BNA where she covered Congress, the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration. Catherine’s work also has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek.

Catherine is a native Vermonter and carries pure maple syrup to her favorite brunch spots in D.C., her current home. When not working, she likes to plan trips to places she’s never been and see live music. She really wants to start playing piano again.